Zoom Pulls Freebie Services From China-Based Users

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The concept of working remotely is far from foreign here in China, particularly for those in the education sector. ESL teachers employed by training centers often rely on video-conferencing software to give lessons to schools and students further outside the cities in which they are based. International schools in Beijing and the rest of China have also had to rely on video-conferencing in the interim, using a variety of platforms to teach students stuck at home. Some of the software is known to be notoriously difficult to operate, so unsurprisingly, many of these schools and training centers have turned to Zoom due to its ease of use. Zoom has also been working to increase its user numbers in China, offering the service free to users.

However, users have recently noted a change in user policy. As of May 1, Zoom services are no longer free but are available on a subscription basis, which includes various different features for different price points. This sudden change in pricing might force training centers which have come to rely on the service to look elsewhere, and possibly return to use less user-friendly learning apps already in the market.

If you are still using a free membership, the main change you notice is that there is now a limit on the length of Zoom calls: to 40 minutes. Here are the full details of what the free package includes:

1. Host up to 100 participants

2. Unlimited 1-to-1 meetings

3. 40 minute limit on group meetings

4. Unlimited number of meetings

5. Ticket Support

6. Video Conferencing Features

7. Web Conferencing Features

8. Group Collaboration Features

9. Security

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For small teams, the Pro package priced at $14.99 per month per host offers:

1. All Basic features

2. Includes 100 participants

3. Meeting duration limit is 24 hrs

4. User management

5. Admin feature controls

6. Reporting

7. Custom Personal Meeting ID

8. Assign scheduler

9. 1GB of MP4 or M4A cloud recording

10. REST API

11. Skype for Business (Lync) interoperability

For small to medium teams with a possible ten or more hosts, the Business package priced at $19.99 per month, per host, offers:

1. All-Pro features +

2. Includes 300 participants

3. Dedicated phone support

4. Admin dashboard

5. Vanity URL

6. Option for on-premise deployment

7. Managed domains

8. Single sign-on

9. Company branding

10. Custom emails

11. LTI integration

12. Cloud Recording Transcripts

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Photos: Unsplash 

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